Pow Hill Bog is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 in the Wear Valley

Wear Valley

Wear Valley was, from 1974 to 2009, a local government district in County Durham, England. Its council was based in Crook.The district covered much of the Weardale area. In the west it was parished and rural, whereas in the east it was more urban...

 district of County Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It lies alongside Derwent Reservoir

Derwent Reservoir

There are two Derwent Reservoirs in England:* Derwent Reservoir * Derwent Reservoir on the border between County Durham and Northumberland...

, approximately 2 km north-west of the village of Edmundbyers

Edmundbyers

Edmundbyers is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated a few miles to the west of Consett, near Derwent Reservoir.-Etymology:...

 and adjacent to the Edmundbyers Common portion of the Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor

Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor

Muggleswick, Stanhope and Edmundbyers Commons and Blanchland Moor is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in County Durham and Northumberland, England...

 SSSI.

The site contains two types of mire

Bog

A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....

, a valley mire and a soligenous mire, the former a scarce habitat in County Durham. There are also areas of heathland and semi-improved grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

, as well as small plantations of larch

Larch

Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15 to 50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains further south...

 and spruce

Spruce

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...

.

The wetter parts of the valley mire are characterised by an abundance of bog mosses, Sphagnum spp

Sphagnum

Sphagnum is a genus of between 151 and 350 species of mosses commonly called peat moss, due to its prevalence in peat bogs and mires. A distinction is made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog on one hand, and sphagnum peat moss or sphagnum peat on the other, the...

, in association with species such as common cottongrass, Eriophorum angustifolium, star sedge, Carex echinata

Carex echinata

Carex echinata is a species of sedge known by the common names star sedge and little prickly sedge.-Distribution:This plant is native to North and Central America and parts of Eurasia. Carex echinata is a plant of wet forests, marshes, and mountain meadows of moderate elevation...

, and bog asphodel, Narthecium ossifragum. The drier areas are heathland, with heather, Calluna vulgaris, hare's-tail cottongrass, Eriophorum vaginatum

Eriophorum vaginatum

Eriophorum vaginatum L. is a species of perennial herbaceous plants in the family Cyperaceae, native to bogs and other acidic wetlands throughout the Holarctic Kingdom. It is a 30-60 cm high tussock-forming plant with erect solitary spikelets.-External links:* in Flora of North America*...

, cross-leaved heath, Erica tetralix

Erica tetralix

Erica tetralix is a species of heather found in Atlantic areas of Europe, from southern Portugal to central Norway, as well as a number of boggy regions further from the coast in Central Europe. In bogs, wet heaths and damp coniferous woodland, Erica tetralix can become a dominant part of the flora...

, and common sedge, Carex nigra

Carex nigra

Carex nigra Reichard is a perennial species of plants in the family Cyperaceae native to wetlands of Europe, western Asia, NW Africa and E North America. The eastern limit of its range reaches central Siberia, Turkey and probably Caucasus....

.

The soligenous mire is characterised by sharp-flowered rush, Juncus acutiflorus

Juncus acutiflorus

Juncus acutiflorus, also called Sharp-flowered Rush, is a rush or a grassy plant of the genus Juncus. As the name suggests, the plant has notable sharp-looking flowers, flowering between July and September.-Physical description:...

, and purple moor-grass, Molinia caerulea. Several local species are also present, including narrow-leaved buckler-fern, Dryopteris carthusiana

Dryopteris carthusiana

Dryopteris carthusiana H.P. Fuchs is a species of fern native to damp forests throughout the Holarctic Kingdom...

, lesser skullcap, Scutellaria minor, and grass of Parnassus, Parnassia palustris

Parnassia palustris

Parnassia palustris, commonly called Marsh Grass-of-Parnassus, Northern Grass-of-Parnassus, and Bog-star, is a species of the genus Parnassia....

.

The site is located within the Pow Hill Country Park, a recreational area managed by Durham County Council.